Bears focus on stopping Maryland guard

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Photo: Dave Martin, AP

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** RETRANSMIT WITH CORRECT SLUG ** Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez walks off the court after losing 67-61 to Duke in an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference men's tournament in Atlanta, Saturday, March 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Dave Martin) less

** RETRANSMIT WITH CORRECT SLUG ** Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez walks off the court after losing 67-61 to Duke in an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference men's ... more

Photo: Dave Martin, AP

Bears focus on stopping Maryland guard

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Before they had their first session of game-planning for the NCAA Tournament and before they had seen a second of video from their first-round opponent, the Cal stars were all somewhat aware of the same thing about Maryland.

"I hear they've got a great guard, and I definitely want to draw that defensive assignment," forward Theo Robertson said.

"Someone just informed me of his name, but I already knew about Vasquez's game," point guard Jerome Randle said.

The player on Cal's periphery is Greivis Vasquez, whose name hasn't quite become household but whose ability spans the 2,800 miles between Berkeley and College Park, Md.

By the time the seventh-seeded Bears (22-10) and No. 10 Maryland (20-13) play at approximately noon Thursday in Kansas City, Mo., Cal's players surely will be made conscious of the importance of stopping Vasquez.

And everyone on the opponent's team worse. Vasquez, a 6-foot-6, 190-pounder from Venezuela, is the definition of a complete player.

If he keeps up his current pace, he'll become the sixth player in ACC history to lead his team in scoring, rebounding and assists - joining Tim Duncan (Wake Forest), Danny Ferry (Duke), Anthony Grundy (N.C. State), Julius Hodge (N.C. State) and Bob Sura (Florida State). For good measure, Vasquez also has a team-leading 1.4 steals to go with his 17.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists.

"One of the great things about our team is that we don't care about individual numbers, and Greivis is the best about that," Maryland coach Gary Williams said Monday night on his weekly radio show. "He wouldn't know his numbers, and that's the way he plays.

"He has to score for us to be effective, but he's just as happy to make a nice pass or get a rebound, and that rubs off on everyone."

If there's anything missing in Vasquez's game, it's consistency. He has posted games of 35, 33 and 28 points this season. He also has had games of 2, 4 and 6 points.

From afar, it appears as though Vasquez takes the games of greatness and those of calamity in equal stride. He regularly smiles and laughs while playing and carries on conversations with opposing crowds.

As a freshman, he handled it when Duke students moved about eight Spanish-speakers to the front of their section to ride him about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

This season, after getting a vocal battering from North Carolina fans in early February, he had a career game of 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in an 88-85 overtime win over the Heels in College Park on Feb. 21. And later, he joked and made a show of himself at North Carolina State, responding to the fans' abuse by scoring 33 points, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer while already ahead by eight points.

Vasquez later apologized for the unsportsmanlike act, but it is who he is. He is equal parts happy-go-lucky and aloof combined with take-no-prisoners and aggression. Think Manny being Manny at the collegiate basketball level.

"Greivis is flying around the ceiling all of the time," Williams joked.

Cal's most similar player is freshman Jorge Gutierrez, who could get his first collegiate start and could draw the assignment of guarding Vasquez. About that, Montgomery said, "I don't know, and, even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

If not - and if Cal sticks with a man-to-man defense instead of switching to a zone, which has proven a better speed bump to Maryland's flex offense - the assignment of slowing Vasquez probably would go to Robertson.

"This is tournament time," Robertson said. "Every team is going to have someone who is really good, and I definitely look forward to the challenge."

Vasquez bio

Name: Greivis Vasquez

Class/Pos.: Junior/guard

Ht./Wt.: 6-foot-6/190

Hometown: Caracas, Venezuela

High school: Played with Kevin Durant at Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.)

Party crasher

No. 6 Texas. The Longhorns have lost six of eight games, but have beaten Tennessee, Arizona State, Baylor and Iowa State this season.

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